logo
Mendik Matters

    ABA Ethics Opinion on Confidentiality of Electronic Documents

    On May 11th, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 477, Securing Communication of Protected Client Information.  This important ethics opinion discusses confidentiality obligations relating to electronic client communications, including e-mail.  According to the ABA, an updated opinion was necessary given the evolution of the “role and risks of technology in the practice of law” and the 2012 “technology amendments” to the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

    The Opinion states that if a lawyer has “undertaken reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access,” a lawyer can generally transmit client information over the Internet without violating the Model Rules.  Special security measures may be required, however, by “an agreement with the client or by law, or when the nature of the information requires a higher degree of security.”  The Opinion doesn’t define the reasonable efforts lawyers should take to comply with the Model Rules, but offers seven factors to help guide and inform decisions.

    You can and should read the entire Opinion here:  ABA Comm. on Ethics & Prof’l Responsibility, Formal Op. 477 (2017).

     

     

     

     

     

     


    Search

    Subscribe

    Via E-mail:

    Library Links

  • Contact Us
  • Library Home Page
  • Search the Library's Online Catalog
  • Facebook  Find Us on Facebook
  • Recent Posts

    • Love is In the Air at the Mendik Library!
    • Spring Semester Hours 2023
    • Mendik Library Hours from Thursday December 22, 2022 to Monday January 16, 2023
    • Good Luck on Exams!
    • See Something? Say Something.
    • Mendik Library Hours Beginning Wednesday, November 23, 2022
    • Halloween Info Hunt Winners
    • Boo! Halloween Info Hunt Returns
    • Interruption of Access to Some Library Materials
    • First Monday in October

    Categories

  • Bar
  • Blogs
  • CALI
  • Courts
  • Courts, International
  • Current Affairs
  • Electronic Legal Research
  • Events
  • Exams
  • Food and Drink
  • Law
  • Law Practice
  • Law School
  • Legal History
  • Legal News
  • Library Information
  • Mobile App
  • New Acquisitions
  • News
  • One Ls
  • Research
  • Schedule
  • tax
  • Uncategorized
  • Web
  • Web/Tech
  • Welcome
  • Archives

    © 1997-2023 New York Law School | 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 | 212.431.2100 | Policies